George Longinidis

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George "The Iron Lion" Longinidis (born 5 September 1975) Australian kickboxer of Greek descent. His brother, Stan, is also a well-known kickboxer.

Biography and career

Longinidis was born in Melbourne, Victoria to Greek parents Steve and Suzie. He has a brother, Stan "The Man" Longinidis, who is 10 years older, and a sister Lana who is 9 years older. George was married in 2003 to wife Desi and they have two children Susannah and Isaac.

George started his martial arts career at the age of 8 and went on to claim a black belt in the art of bushidokai at the age of 15.

His professional kickboxing career started in 1998 and since then he has had 15 fights for 15 wins 10 wins by k.o. George was struck down with serious injuries during his fight career and was setback for a lengthy period of time. George has had a total of 14 operations to repair ruptures and tears including re-constructions to his knee and shoulders. His biggest win was on 23 September 2005 at the Osaka Dome in Japan where he faced Japanese legendary champion Nobuaki Kakuda in front of 50,000 fans on the prestigious K1 circuit. George defeated his Japanese opponent by unanimous decision 3-0.[1]

George created history on 24 July 2009 by winning the W.O.K.A World heavyweight kickboxing championship against Thai Asian champion Ramba Sitsianpo,[2] and thereby with Stan becoming the only two brothers of Greek/Australian heritage to ever win World titles in any sport and the only two brothers to both be world 'Heavyweight' champion kickboxers.[3]

George Longinidis also conducts personal training sessions for clientele in the city of Melbourne, Australia.